Unit 3: Phonology


Phonology deals with the analysis of the sound patterns of the different languages of the world (Jensen, 1993). When we talk about phonology we usually find these terms:  phonemes, word stress, sentence stress and intonation.
A phoneme is the smallest unit of sound that can alter the meaning of a word in a language. For example, if the sound /s/ is added to the noun car, it is known that we are no referring to just one car anymore and therefore, it can be inferred that adding the sound /s/ to noun changes its number from singular to plural. Phonemes are usually represented using symbols () and are divided into the following categories: vowels, diphthongs, and consonants (according to the flow of air produced while making the sound). Following with the contents of the unit, I learned about the energy that each syllable has in a word is called stress. The way in which we pronounce each part of a sentence is called sentence stress, this can change the meaning of the sentence and it is divided into primary, secondary, and contrastive stress. Another thing that can change in a sentence is the function. This is regulated by the intonation that the speaker uses. For example: if we use a falling tone in the sentence: bananas cost 1 dollar each, we are stating a fact but, if we use a rising tone in the same sentence, we are asking a question.
What will I teach to my students?
As many students are learning English for the first time, it is not a good idea to focus your attention only on pronunciation because they will not want to get involved in the different activities. If they feel comfortable, they will enjoy and take advantage of the learning process.
Rogerson’s (2011) stated:
If we hear an unknown language for the first time, we perceive a stream of unidentifiable sounds, that is, an auditory impression, which often form the basis of prejudged reactions about the language. For instance, L1 English speakers often find French “romantic” or “sophisticated” while German can be seen as rather “hard”, “guttural” or “masculine”.
Therefore, I will definitely choose activities that students will feel comfortable with. Activities such as singing modern songs, or even performing a roleplay based on a current topic, will make students feel comfortable with the language consequently, they will have a better pronunciation.
Bibliography

Jensen, T. (1993) English Phonology Retrieved from ProQuest Ebook Central: https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/uta-ebooks/detail.action?docID=793539

Revell, P. R. (2011). English Phonology and Pronunciation Teaching Retrieved from Google Books: https://books.google.com.ec/books?id=k34SBwAAQBAJ&lpg=PP1&dq=using phonology in the classroom&pg=PR4#v=onepage&q=using phonology in the classroom&f=false

Exciting English. (2015, November 13th) Learn/Practice English with MOVIES (Lesson #1) Title: The Incredibles  [Video file]. Retrieved from YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rnwwo9Zol6w



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